Amanda Gorman, the 22-year-old poet who spoke at the inauguration of President Joe Biden last month, has again commanded the spotlight on one of the country’s biggest stages, this time the Super Bowl.
Key points:
- The poem, titled Chorus of the Captains, was a tribute to three people for their contributions during the coronavirus pandemic
- Ms Gorman is the youngest person to ever recite a poem at the US presidential inauguration
- This week, she was on the cover of Time Magazine, in an interview conducted by Michelle Obama
Ms Gorman read an original poem on Sunday during the pregame festivities in Tampa, Florida.
The poem, titled Chorus of the Captains, was a tribute to three people for their contributions during the pandemic: educator Trimaine Davis, nurse manager Suzie Dorner and Marine veteran James Martin.
Ms Gorman didn’t perform on the field but rather appeared in a taped video message that combined her reading with images of Davis, Dorner and Martin.
Ms Gorman recited:
“Today we honour our three captains
For their actions and impact in
A time of uncertainty and need.
They’ve taken the lead,
Exceeding all expectations and limitations,
Uplifting their communities and neighbours
As leaders, healers and educators.
James has felt the wounds of warfare,
But this warrior still shares
His home with at-risk kids.
During COVID, he’s even lent a hand
Live-streaming football for family and fans.
Trimaine is an educator who works nonstop,
Providing his community with hotspots,
Laptops, and tech workshops,
So his students have all the tools
They need to succeed in life and in school.
Suzie is the ICU nurse manager at a Tampa hospital.
Her chronicles prove that even in tragedy, hope is possible.
She lost her grandmothers to the pandemic,
And fights to save other lives in the ICU battle zone,
Defining the frontline heroes risking their lives for our own.
Let us walk with these warriors,
Charge on with these champions,
And carry forth the call of our captains!
We celebrate them by acting
With courage and compassion,
By doing what is right and just.
For while we honour them today,
It is they who every day honour us.”
That Ms Gorman brought poetry to the Super Bowl was an almost unthinkable collision of grace and glitz.
Actress Queen Latifah was promoting her TV show The Equalizer on the day, which landed the post-Super Bowl showing slot.
In a video message on Twitter, she thanked Ms Gorman for being “our first Equalizer”.
“You got them to bring poetry to the Super Bowl,” she said.
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But if the Super Bowl, an annual rite of excess, was an unlikely platform for a poet, it showed just how much Ms Gorman had seized the nation’s spotlight since the inauguration.
Ms Gorman, previously the country’s first National Youth Poet Laureate, was the youngest person to ever recite a poem at the US presidential inauguration.
Her reading of The Hill We Climb at the Capitol immediately became a sensation.
An illustrated book of her poem quickly zoomed to the top of bestseller lists.
Shortly after the inauguration, she signed with IMG Models, an agency that represents supermodels, tennis star Naomi Osaka and playwright Jeremy O Harris.
This week, she is on the cover of Time Magazine, in an interview conducted by Michelle Obama.
Ms Gorman’s Super Bowl appearance had been planned before the inauguration.
She seemed to grasp the unlikeliness of her pre-game reading, the first in Super Bowl history.
And with potentially 100 million viewers on the CBS telecast, it made for one very well-attended poetry recital.
“Poetry at the Super Bowl is a feat for art and our country, because it means we’re thinking imaginatively about human connection even when we feel siloed,” Ms Gorman said Sunday on Twitter.
“I’ll honour three heroes who exemplify the best of this effort. Here’s to them, to poetry and to a Super Bowl like no other.”
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AP/ABC
